--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The absurdity of working so hard to…" description: "\"“The absurdity of working so hard to continue doing something you don’t like can be overwhelming.”\" — Allie Brosh" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/allie-brosh-12906_absurdity_the-absurdity-of-working-so-hard-to-cont_2570225.jpg" --- # The absurdity of working so hard to continue doing… ![“The absurdity of working so hard to continue doing something you don’t like can be overwhelming.” quote by Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/allie-brosh-12906_absurdity_the-absurdity-of-working-so-hard-to-cont_2570225.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/allie-brosh-12906_absurdity_the-absurdity-of-working-so-hard-to-cont_2570225.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/allie-brosh-12906_absurdity_the-absurdity-of-working-so-hard-to-cont_2570225.jpg) > ““The absurdity of working so hard to continue doing something you don’t like can be overwhelming.”” [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Working hard at an unfulfilling task feels absurd and overwhelming, highlighting the need for meaningful work. **In simple terms:** Hard work without joy is absurd. Key Takeaway Seek purpose in what you do. Themes work meaning absurdity overwhelm mental health Mood frustrated reflective humorous Type comic motivational When to use this quote - career counseling - personal reflection - creative projects Key Concepts purpose alignment career change burnout prevention Questions to Reflect On - What makes work feel meaningful? - How can you change an unfulfilling task? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex job constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurdity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity/) [Absurdity Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity-working-980180/) [Existentialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existentialism/) [Like Overwhelming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-overwhelming-1571009/) [Overwhelming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overwhelming/) [Working hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-hard/) ## Related quotes > [Wit is a pleasure-giving thing, largely because it eludes reason; but in the apprehension of an absurdity through the working of the comic spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/wit-is-a-pleasure-giving-thing-largely-because-it-eludes-reason-but/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [New York seems very very foreign to me, like more foreign than almost anywhere in America, and almost anywhere in the world, I find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/new-york-seems-very-very-foreign-to-me-like-more-foreign-than-almost/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [“I never knew how much I missed pickles and pickle juice. It's like, an overwhelming feeling that I can't even explain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snooki/i-never-knew-how-much-i-missed-pickles-and-pickle-juice-it-s-like-an-2/) [Snooki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snooki/) > [Old Zen was the reduction of concepts to absurdity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/old-zen-was-the-reduction-of-concepts-to-absurdity/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“The feeling of absurdity does not spring from the mere scrutiny of a fact or an impression, but that it bursts from the comparison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-feeling-of-absurdity-does-not-spring-from-the-mere-scrutiny-of-a/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Crude absurdities, trivial nonsense, and sublime truths are equally potent in readying people for self-sacrifice if they are accepted as the sole, eternal truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/crude-absurdities-trivial-nonsense-and-sublime-truths-are-equally/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Absurdity is what I like most in life, and there's humor in struggling in ignorance. If you saw a man repeatedly running into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/absurdity-is-what-i-like-most-in-life-and-there-s-humor-in-struggling/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [Annihilation is an absurdity in terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-palissy/annihilation-is-an-absurdity-in-terms/) [Bernard Palissy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-palissy/) > [“To hold two ideas that contradict each other is to flirt with absurdity, and humans are creatures who spend their lives trying to convince…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/to-hold-two-ideas-that-contradict-each-other-is-to-flirt-with/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [What monstrous absurdities and paradoxes have resisted whole batteries of serious arguments, and then crumbled swiftly into dust before the ringing death-knell of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/what-monstrous-absurdities-and-paradoxes-have-resisted-whole/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [“The world is absurd. Ugly absurd. To repair ugly absurdity, you can't just be normal. You need an alternative absurdity. A beautiful absurdity. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tzvi-freeman/the-world-is-absurd-ugly-absurd-to-repair-ugly-absurdity-you-can-t/) [Tzvi Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tzvi-freeman/) > [To me absurdity is the only reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/to-me-absurdity-is-the-only-reality/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Life packed a clever one-two punch: cruelty and absurdity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/life-packed-a-clever-one-two-punch-cruelty-and-absurdity/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Desire is this absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility. Ever optimistic, ever resourceful, desire tells us what it sees as it speeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-farley/desire-is-this-absurdity-that-holds-open-the-infinity-of-possibility/) [Wendy Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-farley/) > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) ## More by Allie Brosh > [“I’ve always wanted to not give a fuck. While crying helplessly into my pillow for no good reason, I would often fantasize that maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/i-ve-always-wanted-to-not-give-a-fuck-while-crying-helplessly-into-my/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) > [“Fear and shame are the backbone of my self-control. They are my source of inspiration, my insurance against becoming entirely unacceptable. They help me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/fear-and-shame-are-the-backbone-of-my-self-control-they-are-my-source/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) > [“I am incensed that reality has the audacity to do some of the things it does when I CLEARLY don't want those things to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/i-am-incensed-that-reality-has-the-audacity-to-do-some-of-the-things/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) > [“Reality should follow through on what I think it is going to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/reality-should-follow-through-on-what-i-think-it-is-going-to-do/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) > [“Nobody can guarantee that it's going to be okay, but - and I don't know if this will be comforting to anyone else -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/nobody-can-guarantee-that-it-s-going-to-be-okay-but-and-i-don-t-know/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) > [“And that’s how I got to go to a birthday party while very heavily sedated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/and-that-s-how-i-got-to-go-to-a-birthday-party-while-very-heavily/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) > [“Most people can motivate themselves to do things simply by knowing that those things need to be done. But not me. For me, motivation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/most-people-can-motivate-themselves-to-do-things-simply-by-knowing/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) > [“The illusion of control makes the helplessness seem more palatable. And when that illusion is taken away, I panic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/the-illusion-of-control-makes-the-helplessness-seem-more-palatable/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) > [“It’s so somewhat effective that I now rely on it almost exclusively when I need to get myself to do something”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/it-s-so-somewhat-effective-that-i-now-rely-on-it-almost-exclusively/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) > [“Fortunately, it turns out that being scared of yourself is a somewhat effective motivational technique.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/fortunately-it-turns-out-that-being-scared-of-yourself-is-a-somewhat/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) > [“And that's the most frustrating thing about depression. It isn't always something you can fight back against with hope. It isn't even something -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/and-that-s-the-most-frustrating-thing-about-depression-it-isn-t/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) > [“And finally - FINALLY - after a lifetime of feelings and anxiety and more feelings, I didn't have any feelings left. I had spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/and-finally-finally-after-a-lifetime-of-feelings-and-anxiety-and-more/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) > [“No one could tell me not to eat an entire cake—not my mom, not Santa, not God—no one. It was my cake and everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/no-one-could-tell-me-not-to-eat-an-entire-cake-not-my-mom-not-santa/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) > [“We're going to play a different game now. It's called "who can yell 'help' the loudest and the most.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/we-re-going-to-play-a-different-game-now-it-s-called-who-can-yell/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) > [“Then the guilt from my ignored responsibilities grows so large that merely carrying it around with me feels like a huge responsibility. It takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/then-the-guilt-from-my-ignored-responsibilities-grows-so-large-that/) [Allie Brosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) [Explore all 52 Allie Brosh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/) ## More Absurdity quotes > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/such-squeamish-youths-as-cannot-bear-to-be-connected-with-a-little/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Desire is this absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility. Ever optimistic, ever resourceful, desire tells us what it sees as it speeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-farley/desire-is-this-absurdity-that-holds-open-the-infinity-of-possibility/) [Wendy Farley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-farley/) > [I've always felt that comedy doesn't just come from misery. It comes from an absurdity around that misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-amstell/i-ve-always-felt-that-comedy-doesn-t-just-come-from-misery-it-comes/) [Simon Amstell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-amstell/) > [Unaware of the absurdity of it, we introduce our own petty household rules into the economy of the universe for which the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-herzen/unaware-of-the-absurdity-of-it-we-introduce-our-own-petty-household/) [Alexander Herzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-herzen/) > [“Christianity would be helpless without the idea of free will and the idea of free will would be helpless without incongruity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/christianity-would-be-helpless-without-the-idea-of-free-will-and-the/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [Sensible Catholics have for generations been ignoring the views on contraception held by reactionary old men in the Vatican, but alas, since it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/sensible-catholics-have-for-generations-been-ignoring-the-views-on/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [The tales of our exploits will survive as long as the human voice itself,' he said. 'And even after that, when the robots recall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-tales-of-our-exploits-will-survive-as-long-as-the-human-voice/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Life packed a clever one-two punch: cruelty and absurdity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/life-packed-a-clever-one-two-punch-cruelty-and-absurdity/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) [Browse all 689 Absurdity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The absurdity of working so hard to continue doing something you don’t like can be overwhelming.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Allie Brosh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/the-absurdity-of-working-so-hard-to-continue-doing-something-you-don/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurdity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/the-absurdity-of-working-so-hard-to-continue-doing-something-you-don/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/allie-brosh-12906_absurdity_the-absurdity-of-working-so-hard-to-cont_2570225.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/allie-brosh-12906_absurdity_the-absurdity-of-working-so-hard-to-cont_2570225.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ac/allie-brosh-12906_absurdity_the-absurdity-of-working-so-hard-to-cont_2570225.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The absurdity of working so hard to continue doing something you don’t like can be overwhelming.” — Allie Brosh", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Allie Brosh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allie-brosh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The absurdity of working so hard...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/the-absurdity-of-working-so-hard-to-continue-doing-something-you-don/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allie-brosh/the-absurdity-of-working-so-hard-to-continue-doing-something-you-don/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```